The Prosecutor’s Office’s Proposal Chapter 21

I could feel a gaze fixed on me as I prepared to work without any particular complaints. What saved me from his cool, icy stare was Chief Song Haneul, who entered with a vibrant greeting.

“Good morning, Prosecutor. You too, Officer Lee.”

“Hello.”

“Hello.”

My voice and Prosecutor Joo’s overlapped perfectly.

Chief Song had decided to be my mentor for the day. While he would continue to act as my mentor moving forward, we had decided to pick one simple case to work on the initial steps together.

For about an hour, I learned how to use the prosecutor’s office software from Chief Song. It was a work program where I could share files with Prosecutor Joo and receive instructions. When a case is entered into the program, the case number is generated automatically, and I was told that if it isn’t completed within three months from the date of undertaking, it causes problems for one’s performance record.

“If you hold onto it for more than three months, it usually becomes a cold case and ends up being suspended from prosecution. Then you get scolded by the higher-ups. Performance management is important for the prosecutor’s office, too.”

“I see.”

“For now, you just need to receive the materials transferred by the police, review them, and if additional records are needed, call in the relevant parties to take new statements. Usually, the suspect is arrested before indictment, so it’s not difficult to take a suspect’s statement. I heard you’re from a police background, Officer Lee. You must have taken plenty of statements.”

“My career working as a police officer was short. I haven’t taken that many.”

“Still, I think you’ll do much better than those who just pass the civil service exam and come straight into the prosecutor’s office.”

The colleague’s warm praise was so unfamiliar that my lips stayed shut as if they had been brushed with honey. I hadn’t established a manual for how to react to someone’s compliments.

“Since you have practical experience, Officer Lee, I think you can just do what you were doing. Investigators look professional on the outside, but there are many who have been working for 10 years and still write things in a complete mess. And in our prosecutor’s office, your skills will improve quickly if you get feedback from Prosecutor Joo.”

Chief Song Haneul stopped whispering and opened a notepad to type.

He doesn’t like typos, and he doesn’t like it when the subject is omitted. Statements must be summarized as clearly as possible. Don’t write vaguely or confusingly. I’ll let you know about more precautions via messenger later.

Thank you.

As soon as I replied with my fingers, Chief Song Haneul pressed the backspace key firmly, erasing the traces of our conversation.

“The 1st Criminal Division of the Danhyeon Branch handles violent crimes, so we mostly get murder, robbery, and rape cases, but light cases like theft or contact accidents come in sometimes. Among the cases left in the cabinet, I think it would be good to try handling the road rage case first. The perpetrator even made an appointment to visit the prosecutor’s office directly to explain himself, but it fell through because the previous person quit quickly.”

“Then he’ll come right away if I contact him.”

“He probably will. He said he would take an annual leave day to come. Shall we go around and greet the chiefs first? I think everyone will have clocked in by now.”

“Yes.”

“Prosecutor, we will go and pay our respects.”

“Go ahead.”

I stood up from my seat and straightened my tie. Staff members who were not prosecutors usually didn’t wear ties, but I paid attention to it today since it was my first day. Of course, Prosecutor Joo Taeson was always in a neat suit with his tie perfectly in place.

I glanced back as I left the office and saw Prosecutor Joo watching Chief Song and me as we left together with a quite sharp expression. Wondering if he was looking at me like that because I was Lee Gilyoung’s son, I forced myself to swallow a dry lump in my throat.

Making introduction rounds upon being assigned was always awkward. Most people barely acknowledged the greetings, but Chief Tak Seong-ung of the 2nd Criminal Division welcomed us very warmly. He was the person I had run into at the prosecutor’s office last time, who claimed to have been a classmate of Prosecutor Joo’s father.

Chief Song and I were even served mix coffee while sitting on the sofa. Although the chiefs used their offices alone, the interiors were very large because they also had to hold case meetings with regular prosecutors.

“So Officer Lee Chaeha is from a police background?”

“Yes, that is correct.”

“I cherish Prosecutor Joo very much. He works well, and he’s like a son to me.”

I listened intently to Chief Tak’s words.

“Please take good care of our Prosecutor Joo from now on. And help him process cases a bit more quickly. He’s usually bold, but he’s more cautious and prudent than he looks, so there are many cases he’s sitting on.”

“I will work hard.”

“And if Prosecutor Joo ever gives you a hard time, let me know. He listens to me, so I’ll put in a word for you.”

Chief Tak was the most down-to-earth prosecutor I had ever met. He was completely different from Prosecutor Joo, who stirred up a strange sense of tension. His tone of voice and his expression were so benevolent that I didn’t feel the slightest bit uncomfortable while we were talking. I also liked the way he spoke to Prosecutor Joo Taeson, who was only difficult for me to approach.

I thought that one must be very lucky to have such a person as a boss.

“I’ve held you busy people up for no reason. You may go now. Congratulations again, Officer Lee. Now that you’re part of the prosecutor’s office family, let’s work well together.”

“Thank you, Chief Tak.”

“Good work, Chief Song Haneul.”

“Yes, Chief.”

We stood up. Chief Tak followed us out and even saw us off before closing the door himself. Since the introduction rounds were all finished, I spoke my thoughts quietly as we headed to Room 512.

“Chief Tak is incredibly friendly. He seems like a warm person.”

“He is. He has a good reputation.”

Perhaps agreeing with my words, Chief Song nodded with a bright face.

When we returned after finishing our greetings, the assigned cases left by the intake department were piled high on every desk. Of course, the mountain of files in front of Prosecutor Joo was the highest of the three. The legal assistant role was to manage the overall flow and schedule, so they didn’t handle cases separately.

I called the perpetrator of the road rage case as Chief Song had instructed, and he was indeed proactive. He showed such zeal that he even took an annual leave day to appear at the prosecutor’s office in the afternoon, saying he needed to explain himself in person.

According to the police report, the man had not backed down from his claim that he was being treated unfairly, even while at the police station. He argued that he couldn’t help but be angry because the victim had entered his lane without turning on their blinker.

“But does it make sense for them to demand 8 million won in settlement money from me! Insurance money comes out too. They should also consider their own fault. This is no different from insurance fraud gangs that intentionally run into cars! It’s unfair, it’s so unfair.”

The perpetrator even teared up. However, he was the person who had followed the victim’s car, passed them, threatened them by slamming on the brakes, and eventually even collided with them. If a stranger heard him, they might have been persuaded, but to someone who knew the whole situation, it was truly an absurd sophistry.

After listening to the perpetrator’s claims for a long time, I turned the monitor to show him the screen.

“Could you look at this photo for a moment? This is the section where you, Mr. Choi Seong-min, claim the victim cut in without turning on their blinker. Do you see the dotted line running diagonally in the middle of the intersection?”

“…Yes.”

“The victim was following their own lane correctly along the dotted line, and you, Mr. Choi Seong-min, rushed forward in a straight line as you were driving without looking at the dotted line. The intersection lanes here do not connect in a straight line. So, it was actually you, Mr. Choi Seong-min, who didn’t turn on your blinker and invaded the lane the victim was driving in, and you even committed road rage due to your own misunderstanding.”

“No! I drove correctly!”

I had organized all the evidence and questions to show the perpetrator who had appeared since the morning. Thinking the dashcam footage alone was insufficient, I contacted the traffic division and secured additional CCTV footage. It was footage filmed from above showing Mr. Choi starting to chase the victim after driving in the wrong lane.

Once I showed the perpetrator the CCTV footage and objectively made him aware of the facts, Mr. Choi finally gave up on his claim that the victim had invaded the lane first. I persuaded the perpetrator.

“Checking your criminal record, Mr. Choi Seongmin, you have one prior conviction for a violent crime from five years ago. In this case, if it goes to trial, you could get an additional record. It might not end with just a fine. It’s better for you to confess and admit your wrongdoing now. You need to settle; once an indictment is filed, it will be hard to turn back.”